Today's writings come from two wonderful sources. The first is by the Holy Spirit and taken from scripture. The second comes from the mind, heart, and pen of Max Lucado, a leading contemporary Christian writer.

YOUR GREATEST MOMENT
Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give some of the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give to each one who wins the victory a white stone with a new name written on it. No one knows this new name except he one who receives it.
REVELATION 2:17
Is there any importance in a new name? Well God plans to give us all a new name and that to me is important news. In Matthew 1:21 an angel appeared in a dream to Joseph telling him ".....she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." And in John 1:42, Jesus speaking to Peter says "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).
I can't say I've given a lot of thought to my given name. Never figured it made much difference. I do recall a kid in elementary school wondering if I were German. I said no. "Then why do you have a German name?" I didn't even know Max was German. So I decided to find out.

"Why did you name me Max?" I asked Mom when I got home.

She looked up from the sink and replied, "You just looked like one."

Like I say, I haven't given much thought to my name. But there is one name that has caught my interest lately. A name only God knows. A name only God gives. A unique, one-of-a-kind, once-to-be-given name.

What am I talking about? Well, you may not have known it, but God has a new name for you. The name you've always heard won't be the one he uses. When God says he will make all things new, he means it. You will have a new home, a new body, a new life, and you guessed it, a new name.

Makes sense. Fathers are fond of giving their children special names. Princess. Tiger. Sweetheart. Bubba. Angel. I have a friend whose father calls her Willy. Her name is Priscilla. That became Silly-Willy. Today he calls her Willy. No one else does. Even if they did, no one else could say it the way her dad does.

Now maybe you didn't get a special name. Or maybe you have received special names. Names you never sought. Names of derision and hurt. Names like "loser" or "cheat," "cripple," "infected," or "divorced." If so, I'm sorry. You know how a name can hurt. But you can also imagine how a name can heal.

Especially when it comes from the lips of God. Isn't it incredible to think that God has saved a name just for you? Imagine what that implies. Apparently your future is so promising it warrants a new title.

Your eternity is so special no common name will do. So God has one reserved just for you. There is more to your life than you ever thought. There is more to your story than what you have read. There is more to your song than what you have sung. The best is yet to be.

And so I urge you, don't give up. And so I plead, finish the journey. And so I exhort, be there. Be there when God whispers your name.

Max Lucado, from his book The Greatest Moments